Mr Dingle, the Wanted
by blazedveggies556
Summary: This REALLY short story is based on the episode "Mr. Dingle, the Strong" and it's just what I thought happened a bit after the episode ends with the viewer realizing that this is not the last extraordinary event that Mr. Luther Dingle will go through. Again, it's really short, but I hope you guys enjoy it.
1. Chapter 1

_You're traveling to another dimension. A dimension of not only sight and sound, but of mind. Journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop: The Twilight Zone!_

Sometimes, an incident is not merely a temporary slip of fate. It can linger with its victim for a time. How long that time can be, no one can say. But in that time a man is susceptible to the incredible unknown. Such is the case of this poor man–– Luther Dingle. Former vacuum salesman, former strongest man in the world, former smartest man in the world, and just about everything humanly imaginable. It has only been a matter of days since his first taste of strange happenings, yet he already has the attention of the world on him, even caught the attention of an organization of scientists. An organization of scientists that have apprehended Mr. Dingle during the night to find out what causes this man's strange impermanent abilities. The eyes of the world not only watches Mr. Dingle, however, but also the eyes of the universe–– here in the Twilight Zone.

"Urgh…" Mr. Dingle groaned, a permeating white light growing wider as he forced his eyes open. The numbness of his unconscious began to seep away, his fingertips becoming aware of a cold metal underneath. Then a throbbing ache in his head made itself present, helping Mr. Dingle open his eyes further. He winced at the pain and at the light, then realized how completely weak he felt, as though his energy had been completely sucked out of him. He tried to stretch out, but then realized that he couldn't fully move–– metal restraints had been placed on his wrists and ankles.

Then it dawned on him. This was not his house. The room he was in was blank, with only a mirror near the top of the fifteen foot tall ceiling and this table he seemed to be spread on now.

_Am I… dreaming?_ he thought, seeing that he was only in his blue striped pajamas.But the aches in his body and the persistent throbbing in his head told him otherwise. A wave of panic swept over him as he became cognizant of this reality.

"H-hello!? Is anybody there? Would someone _please_ tell me where I am!?"

"Ah, Mr. Dingle, you are awake" a voice called out calmly.

"W-who, who said that? Where are you?" Dingle called out. The voice didn't seem to belong to anything and it made him panic a bit more.

"Where we are isn't of any concern to you, neither who we are is of any importance. But simply put, we are people who desire to strengthen the human race by way of the scientific method" the voice said.

Dingle kept looking through the room to search for someone, something that could be producing this voice, his eyes darting from one portion of blank space to the next... The mirror! That was not just a mirror, but a way for whoever was on the other side to scrutinize the subject. But why the secrecy, and how did he end up in such a predicament?

"W-why… am I here" he asked the voice reluctantly, afraid of the answer he would get. He knew why, but… why?

"Why?" the voice laughed at the ridiculousness of such a question. "You act as if you were a child, Mr. Dingle. Asking why… what a preposterous question... But if you must be told, you possess great powers and have been under observation for the last several days since this first extraordinary happening. When the newspapers came out that an ordinary vacuum-cleaner salesman had gained the strength of three hundred men, we thought that this was too good to be true, news you would only see in tabloids. But after hearing that you had lost this power and replaced it with super-intelligence, we knew this was worth looking into to. And we were right–– you possess the uncanny capability to gain numerous powers. Of course, they are only temporary and only occur one at a time, but that is what we want to adjust when we extract whatever causes this for the good of mankind".

"Extract!?" Dingle asked in disbelief. _Extract _would mean large needles, strange people looming over you with instruments of every kind. "B-but, that certainly would end my life. I-I'd die! Oh…," he groaned with fear, "…how did I even end up here!?"

"A simple abduction Mr. Dingle. Only temporary if you remain intact after the procedure".

"_Intact!? _You make it sound as though I could be in pieces! A-and you kidnapped me!? That must explain my gnawing headache. You _whacked _me on the back of the head!"

"Mr. Dingle" the voice said defiantly, "we are not barbarians! We used a tranquilizer serum to subdue you".

"How did you even break into my––"

"Enough questions!" the voice interrupted harshly, a slight rasp to his tone. "Mr. Dingle, you must realize the good you are doing for humanity! Think of the lives you will improve simply by giving us what should belong to everyone. One ordinary man's life in exchange for making millions of other lives extraordinary".

Mr. Dingle froze, no longer trying to writher out of the restraints digging into his wrists and ankles, but digesting what this man had just said. "Y-you're crazy! No… n-no, I won't do it! Let- me _out _of this madness!" Mr. Dingle demanded, his heart pounding along with the thundering headache, sweat sliding down his aged skin as he tried to break free of the restraints, but it was in vain. He did not have any amazing power of strength, nor did he even have his usual amount of strength (which really, was not much to begin with). He was exhausted, and he felt this fate to be imminent.

"Come now Mr. Dingle, stop your squirming. The procedure needs to start immediately. Activate your power and we will begin. We need to find the aura on our monitors to gain optimum extraction time".

"_Activate_ my…" Mr. Dingle repeated. "You think I can turn it on whenever I well please!? This thing just happens to me, I can't just _will_ it to occur!"

"Cease your lies Mr. Dingle. We know you can. Just do it and it will be over with, or we will be forced to utilize extreme measure to make you do it".

"But I _can't_! Don't you understand?!" Mr. Dingle cried out, exasperated.

"Very well. We will get it one way or another". The wall on the farthest side of the room seemed to split apart, and an eerie blue glow emitted from it. Six white hazmat suits rushed in, each of them about seven feet tall with a scepter in their hand about that height, glittering with a yellow haze and blue volts of electricity on the top.

"N-NO! Please! DON'T DO this!" Mr. Dingle pleaded, but those creatures ignored his cries as they prepared their tactics of persuasion.


	2. Chapter 2

Watching the scene, intangible to human eyes, in another dimensional plane, stood an alien from the Planet Uuo. One head, resembling that of a pale human man, rested on a black cloak draping over a pair of shoulders and the alien's entire body, a crown of antennae around its scalp. A second head protruded from the center of the body, resembling the first, through an incision in the garb.

"…Do you not find this intriguing?" the first head spoke.

The second head puzzled. "In what manner?"

The first head frowned. "Is it not obvious? The way these creatures attempt to achieve some higher purpose other than being what they are–– specimens. Intriguing specimens, undoubtedly of higher intelligence than the other lifeforms on this planet, but specimens, nonetheless. Much lower than what we are".

It nodded to the hazmat suits that were just entering the door. "And just look at them in those disguises. Trying to invoke fear to get what they want. Such distasteful means. Such futileness".

The men in hazmat suits were about to begin their persuasion. "Well," the first head began, "it is time for us to head ba––"

"Wait!" interrupted the second head, surprising the first. "Was not our objective to bestow the man Luther Dingle with the enhancement?"

"Our objective is to find _a specimen_ to bestow the ability to", the first replied, irritated. "Luther Dingle has been a choice subject by many of our brethren's experimentation, but he will perish soon due to these aggressive tactics. He is no longer of use to us nor to any inhabitants of other planets".

His irritated expression hardened as he stared at the disguised men. "Besides this matter, we will not amuse these creatures by supplementing them with what they desire".

The crown of antennae on his head began to _whir_, a light blue aura surrounding it, engulfing the alien in a shiny spectacle.

"We must take our leave".

"But…" the second head spoke, interrupting the aura. He gazed over at the inhumane sight. _Zaps _and _fizzes_ sang through the sterilized air along with blue sparks and the agonized screams that poured out through Dingle's aching body. "… he needs help––".

"––Are you implying sympathetic feelings for this _human_?!" the first fumed. "There will no longer be any mention of Luther Dingle. We will take our leave. NOW".

"NO!" the second interjected. His own antennae began to undulate as he conjured up a simple rectangular device that floated in mid-air.

"What are you––?! Relinquish control of––!" the first shouted. He strained to gain power over the device with his own telekinetic ability, but the second was just as vehement.

Their battle of minds violently shook the remote look-alike. A white fiery sphere engulfed the device and grew in size with every passing moment of their struggle.

"I will–– REPORT you for your–– INSUBORDINATION!" the first stormed between heavy breaths, his face contorted and red with exhaustion.

"Do–– what you WANT!" the second heaved. "But I CANNOT–– sit back–– and let another individual SUFFER!"

An earsplitting shriek cut through the plane and the sphere exploded with a fiery blast, slamming the visitor into the wall and knocking him unconscious. The device lied on the ground as a pile of ashes.

But not before sending a beam of energy.

Towards Luther Dingle.

[…]

Dingle gulped in as much air as he could between each _jab_ and _shock_ to his worn body, but there was no relief as even breathing inflicted pain with each stroke. Electricity coursed through his bones, causing him to involuntarily writhe, his restraints digging further into his wrists and ankles.

He screamed out in pain. He screamed out in rebellion. But his screams quickly dwindled as numbness ebbed at his chest and the darkness threatened to cover his eyes.

"Please…" Dingle pleaded weakly. "… No more…"

"Mr. Dingle," the voice calmly stated," this is of your own volition. Activate your power and our persuasion will end".

"Ugh… I told you… I c––!" Dingle stopped mid-sentence.

He suddenly felt lighter… as if a wave of euphoria had washed over him. A morsel of empowerment rose within his being. His lips curved up slightly. _I know this feeling…_

The shocks of the jabs melted away. It was not because the numbness had finally won over his body. He still had all of his senses. It was as if…they were not really there. He could _see_ those scepters utilized as tools of his captor's persuasion. But he couldn't _feel _them.

Those creatures in hazmat suits and even the room seemed to go out of focus, like the static on a television set. The voice echoed and wavered, then grew distant until it was a whisper.

Then time slowed down to a syrupy crawl.

[…]

Monitors _beeped _and _whirred_. The green glow of those machines the only light source illuminating the shadows of men. Dozens of eyes examined Dingle up on their perch behind that mirror. Watching the persuasion unfold.

Until Dingle disappeared.

The overseer, the one to whom the voice belonged, grinned.

"Ah! Invisibility. How extraordinary" he mused. "A definite advantage to our society". He bent over a large console near the mirror and spoke into a microphone.

"That's enough for now. Our associate Dingle is ready. The extraction process will start––"

"S-sir" one man hesitantly interrupted.

The overseer paused, then turned his head towards the offender. "What. Is it!?" he said through bared teeth.

The man looked to the others. They nodded to him. "D-Dingle," the subordinate stammered. "H-he… disappeared…"

The overseer stared at his inferior in disbelief. "…I can see that, but he's _still _here! He can't get out of those restraints and this room is sealed tight. We thought of every possible power he could display. They are reinfor––!"

The inferior shook his head. "But I'm telling you! ... Sir… Dingle is gone".

"You imbecile! Just check the heat scanners!"

"But that's just it! This scanner _could _track Luther Dingle even if he is invisible because of the heat his body emits, but there's no trace of him at all! It's as if h-he's not even in this… dimension! He just vanished. Look!" He turned a monitor in front of him to face his superior.

The overseer grabbed the monitor and studied it hard, a trickle of sweat stinging his eyes. Large blobs of red and orange against a background of blue. There should have been seven heat signatures. Six of his men surrounding one Mr. Dingle.

But the color of the center, where Dingle should have been, matched the background.

He threw down the monitor with a _crash_ and seized the microphone. "WE HAVE A CODE 4RR3. SPREAD OUT. FIND DINGLE AND BRING HIM BACK. ALIVE!"


End file.
